Is it really that bad, and is it really that good?

[Santa Raccoon 77]

I just think Disney fans have a VERY exaggerated perception of what a "thrill" ride is. I think Universal actually only has a couple of real "thrill rides" (Hulk, Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket, Dr. Doom's, and Dragon Challenge). I have a hard time calling Spider-man, Transformers, and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey "thrill rides". Do Disney fans REALLY consider Star Tours a "thrill ride". I would even put Revenge of the Mummy on par with Big Thunder Mountain in terms of "thrill" level. Which would be moderate.

Just because something moves a titch faster than "It's A Small World" doesn't make it a carnival flinger. I have actually heard Disney fans complain about how intense "Cat in the Hat" is. No wonder Disney actually had a press event for new benches.

That said, Universal is adding Gringott's Vault, which will be a "family friendly" coaster based dark ride. The Hogwarts Express which will have no height restriction (not even seat belts), some "family friendly" rides to Jurassic Park, and a state of the art Lorax dark ride where we will ride on scooters. That one sounds really cute to me, but infants won't be able to ride so Disney fans will naturally HATE it.

I Am a huge Disney fan and will spend the majority of my vacation there (14 nights).seaworld/Uni/IOA only get one day each .Why ?
I love all the rides at these three parks but can get them all done multiple times in a day (with no need to stay at a uni resort)
There is no feeling of " i must go back there " once i have done everything to just relax or people watch or just enjoy the park.
Uni just doesn't have that "something" that disney does (IMHO)
Now i am not bashing UNI or SW it's just that they don't hold my heart the same as WDW.
How many people cheer passing under the "uni arches " or cry as they get one last glimpse of RRR ?
Uni are doing a Fantastic job with what they are doing but it will never be the same as Disney to me.One is a Theme park the other is an experience.
Feel free to pick this apart as it's my opinion and thats all.

 

[Santa Raccoon 77]

Oh my. You have my sympathy. Good coffee is 1 of life's true pleasures.

If you want to feel really superior google Guernsey(channel Islands) to see just how much stuff we don't have

 

[3WaltFans]

This topic is going nowhere.
WDW - great
Universal - great
Debate settled. - What ever floats your boat. It's all good.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

When people start asking you to fund their vacations . . . . . . . .

They can spend their time and money as they see fit. But I have seen a negative effect on the parks by catering to groups that can't handle rides that actually move. I love Mission Space, but Disney will NEVER build something like that again because of the outcry from people who can't take it and don't EVER want to see Disney build something like that again. So they won't. Same for Alien Encounter. While I have never screamed that I don't want Disney to build "family" attractions there is a lot of screaming that happens when they build something that little Timmy and Granny can't go on. So yes, I do wish that instead of forcing Disney to build ONLY coma inducing rides, they would just go somewhere else better suited to their constitution.

But it is their choice. It's a free country. My wishes and $4.95 will get you a cup of coffee.

 

[Mark In KY]

If you want to feel really superior google Guernsey(channel Islands) to see just how much stuff we don't have

I live (but am not a native of) in The Commonwealth of Kentucky. You have the Atlantic Ocean, I have the Ohio River. 'Nuff said eh?

 

[Mark In KY]

They can spend their time and money as they see fit. But I have seen a negative effect on the parks by catering to groups that can't handle rides that actually move. I love Mission Space, but Disney will NEVER build something like that again because of the outcry from people who can't take it and don't EVER want to see Disney build something like that again. So they won't. Same for Alien Encounter. While I have never screamed that I don't want Disney to build "family" attractions there is a lot of screaming that happens when they build something that little Timmy and Granny can't go on. So yes, I do wish that instead of forcing Disney to build ONLY coma inducing rides, they would just go somewhere else better suited to their constitution.

But it is their choice. It's a free country. My wishes and $4.95 will get you a cup of coffee.

All profit seeking entities cater to the demographic groups that have been shown to spend their money there. SeaWorld rarely advertises on PETA's website. Orthopedic surgeons love ski resorts. Gold's Gym doesn't spend much money on trying to attract nursing home residents.

 

[ToyStorygirl]

Well, we are talking Amusement Parks (and yes, the Disney Parks ARE amusement parks). If someones physical limitations prevent them from riding anything but the most coma inducing rides on the planet, then maybe an amusement park vacation isn't for them. Maybe a nice National Park vacation would be an option.

I think that's very closed minded but each to their own. I have had holidays with various family members of different limitations and we all managed a great time. There's something for everyone in all the Orlando parks and that includes Universal. There are enough shows and as you state "coma inducing" rides to suit people who are shock, horror different to you. It's just Disney have more.

 

[Mark In KY]

I think that's very closed minded but each to their own. I have had holidays with various family members of different limitations and we all managed a great time. There's something for everyone in all the Orlando parks and that includes Universal. There are enough shows and as you state "coma inducing" rides to suit people who are shock, horror different to you. It's just Disney have more.

There are plenty of thrills to be had in National Parks too. Climb El Capitan and sky dive off. Encounter a grizzly in Yellowstone. Catch some trophy rainbow trout in Katmai. Whitewater raft in the New River Gorge.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

I Am a huge Disney fan and will spend the majority of my vacation there (14 nights).seaworld/Uni/IOA only get one day each .Why ?
I love all the rides at these three parks but can get them all done multiple times in a day (with no need to stay at a uni resort)
There is no feeling of " i must go back there " once i have done everything to just relax or people watch or just enjoy the park.
Uni just doesn't have that "something" that disney does (IMHO)
Now i am not bashing UNI or SW it's just that they don't hold my heart the same as WDW.
How many people cheer passing under the "uni arches " or cry as they get one last glimpse of RRR ?
Uni are doing a Fantastic job with what they are doing but it will never be the same as Disney to me.One is a Theme park the other is an experience.
Feel free to pick this apart as it's my opinion and thats all.

I actually DO spend a lot of time just chilling at UOR. Every Sunday morning I am there at rope drop and walk the parks like old folks do the malls. I love hanging at Finnegan's with a Black and Tan and some Scotch Eggs. Even though it is still quite new, I have already spent a couple of hours at Duff's discussing parks with some Orlando United peeps.There is nothing quite as relaxing as sitting harbor side at The Thirsty Fish at Portofino Bay with a bottle of wine and a cheese board.

And I HAVE actually seen people breakdown into tears as they cross through the Hogsmeade arch and get their first full force view of the Hogwarts Castle.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

I think that's very closed minded but each to their own. I have had holidays with various family members of different limitations and we all managed a great time. There's something for everyone in all the Orlando parks and that includes Universal. There are enough shows and as you state "coma inducing" rides to suit people who are shock, horror different to you. It's just Disney have more.

I agree that Disney has the "rides for people who can't ride rides" demo covered. Great!!! But I am still confused as to why those people would even WANT to go on an amusement park oriented vacation. Or why they get offended when Disney dare put a ride in that actually moves. There is PLENTY at Disney that I walk past without queing up. They don't seem to have that ability. And apparently reading comprehension isn't their strong suit either, as there are PLENTY of warning signs letting them know "This Ride Actually MOVES!!!!!" But they queue up anyway. Then puke everywhere while throwing their back out. And that's just The Little Mermaid ride.

 

[flyerjab]

I think that's very closed minded but each to their own. I have had holidays with various family members of different limitations and we all managed a great time. There's something for everyone in all the Orlando parks and that includes Universal. There are enough shows and as you state "coma inducing" rides to suit people who are shock, horror different to you. It's just Disney have more.

Don't let it bother you. His statements are usually blunt and to the point. At least you know where he stands and his posts are certainly not coma-inducing. That's why I like this site. The threads are not boring or one sided.

And for the record, we typically spend a ton of money on our Disney vacations cause that is what we like doing. And we have been to both of Comcast's parks. My wife and I prefer Disney and the experience staying at the Grand Floridian and The Boardwalk. So yeah, we put out the cash when we go.

As far as Comcast Country is concerned, they have excellent thrill rides. When we went, we were specifically going for Harry Potter. My wife and kids really liked it but I found it underwhelming to say the least. The expansion, however, should DEFINITELY take care of that from the pictures I have seen. We will definitely be going back when that opens.

In the end, however, there is something incalculable about Disney. I prefer not to use the term magic since people are usually beat about the head on this sight when that 'word' is used. I'll be interested to see how affordable Comcast parks are in 15-20 years when they have 4 parks, 2 water parks and 50,000 on site rooms to fill. The larger and more complex the institution, the more expensive a vacation at Comcast's parks will become, guaranteed. They just happen to be a few decades behind Disney at the current time. And who knows, maybe in 20 years time, people will be posting how awesome and affordable the up-and-coming Fox theme park is.

 

[ToyStorygirl]

I agree that Disney has the "rides for people who can't ride rides" demo covered. Great!!! But I am still confused as to why those people would even WANT to go on an amusement park oriented vacation. Or why they get offended when Disney dare put a ride in that actually moves. There is PLENTY at Disney that I walk past without queing up. They don't seem to have that ability. And apparently reading comprehension isn't their strong suit either, as there are PLENTY of warning signs letting them know "This Ride Actually MOVES!!!!!" But they queue up anyway. Then puke everywhere while throwing their back out. And that's just The Little Mermaid ride.

Although I know you aren't describing me I think you're a little disrespectful.

It's an AMUSEMENT park not just a ride park. Some of the most loved rides in Universal over the years weren't vomit inducing (Jaws, King Kong, Earthquake, E.T. to name 4 of the golden oldies).

To suggest only people who like/are suitable for thrill rides should go to an amusement park such as Disney or Universal is baffling.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

I just think that Universal is building parks aimed at the 5-65 crowd. If you and/or members of your party fall outside those ranges Universal is probably not the best fit.

I also think that Disney is actively ignoring the 12-50 age groups. Which think is a mistake.

 

[unkadug]

Although I know you aren't describing me I think you're a little disrespectful.

It's an AMUSEMENT park not just a ride park. Some of the most loved rides in Universal over the years weren't vomit inducing (Jaws, King Kong, Earthquake, E.T. to name 4 of the golden oldies).

To suggest only people who like/are suitable for thrill rides should go to an amusement park such as Disney or Universal is baffling.

I think you missed his point (at least the point as I see it).

There should be attractions for everyone and every attraction shouldn't be for everybody.

There are attraction that he skips because they are too mild. The same should be true for those that can't handle the wilder rides. There is still plenty for them to see and do.

As far as your examples of Universal attractions that are not vomit inducing....it's interesting that only one still survives to this day.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Although I know you aren't describing me I think you're a little disrespectful.

It's an AMUSEMENT park not just a ride park. Some of the most loved rides in Universal over the years weren't vomit inducing (Jaws, King Kong, Earthquake, E.T. to name 4 of the golden oldies).

To suggest only people who like/are suitable for thrill rides should go to an amusement park such as Disney or Universal is baffling.

I am not suggesting they don't go. But they also shouldn't complain that they can't ride every single ride in the parks. And they shouldn't sue when they failed to heed the clearly posted warnings.

And I know that they are not just rides parks. I don't complain about the new Belle thing.I think it is really well done and that is the kind of thing that makes these parks World Class Theme Parks. I know a lot of folks have been saying that they should have built a Belle dark ride instead. I disagree. They did build a dark ride, and they are putting in a family coaster to boot. But it's things like Belle's that provide a variety of experiences that make these parks (Disney and Universal) special. Ollivander's Wand thing, Camp Jurassic, Seuss' "Oh The Stories You'll Hear", The Mystic Fountain are all things at IOA that are great and aren't rides. Much less "Thrill Rides".

 

[ToyStorygirl]

I am not suggesting they don't go. But they also shouldn't complain that they can't ride every single ride in the parks. And they shouldn't sue when they failed to heed the clearly posted warnings.

And I know that they are not just rides parks. I don't complain about the new Belle thing.I think it is really well done and that is the kind of thing that makes these parks World Class Theme Parks. I know a lot of folks have been saying that they should have built a Belle dark ride instead. I disagree. They did build a dark ride, and they are putting in a family coaster to boot. But it's things like Belle's that provide a variety of experiences that make these parks (Disney and Universal) special. Ollivander's Wand thing, Camp Jurassic, Seuss' "Oh The Stories You'll Hear", The Mystic Fountain are all things at IOA that are great and aren't rides. Much less "Thrill Rides".

Who complains that they can't ride every ride? Do people really do that? If so that's ridiculous.

 

[Runmyhorse]

I personally love both parks, but I lean more to uni. They are just putting a butt whopping on disbey in my opinion. We are just now driving our 13 hrs bacj from a 2 week vacation. We normally do 2 days only at uni, but with the deal they had stay on site 3 days insite and 2 days free dining deal we choose to do 3 days. We absolutely loved it. Best by far decision we had made this whole trip. My husband and son who really can only ride maybe 3 rides total had no problem finding things to do. Us thrill seekers sure didnt. All the employees interacted with each and every guest and was in character. Rides had a few break downs but was up and running in no time and even tain had some down for a while, but tye workers entertainment during thise times made up for it. Wait times koved right along even though there was some with longer waits. I actually went to a restroom and was waiting on my daughter at tge end of the night the cleaning lady aaked if she could help me and if the bathrooms were clean enough. She was generally concerned. Now on to another kicker cat and the hat fish was missing an eyebrow and it was fixed the next moring. We even went back for halloween horror nights lastnight. Its a huge must.a huge plus was no crying kids or fighting adults.

Now on to disney. Well I really dont even know where yo begin this one. I love disney and normally get teary eyed first day there and last. Nope not this tine I didnt even look back on our last night in the park. We had 6 days.So many ride break downs. There was so many rude cms. They didbt want to be there and you could plainly see it on their faces. Absolutely no crowd control what so ever. Our lastnight there was Thursday and during the wishes fire work show they had everyone go down that little walk way whichhad ppeople and strollers down. You coukd not get through. It was terrible and just plan out stupid thing to do. I finally had to grab kids hands and shove my way through knocking people out of the way. Lost my husband in the process. 2 halloween parties and never did get to see the headless horseman due to rain. We got maybe a handful of candy and no character signings due to wait times. We have gobe 3 tines ecery yr for seven yrs and this has been the worst. Kids crying and parents fighting and cussing. Brizilian girks butt cheeks hanging out. I have a picture of my kids and in the back ground there is a girl and you can clearly see everything. This girl has to be maybe 15. Im ggonna have to crop her out. So im not so sure disney is family friendly anymore who would let that through the gates I have no.idea. There are many other things disney has done and ill save those for my tr, but disbey is falling behind in my book. This was our 7th trip and our last one im sad to say. We absolutely loved disney but as my husband and I talked about we are paying disney alot of mobey to be miserable and don't feel we are getting what we pay back. I see uni passing disbey if what I hear to come happens.

 

[Glasgow]

The cost to content ratio has just become too high for us at Disney. In the last ten years we've only gone to WDW, and have gone the last seven with our kids, once per year. Not this time .. we're taking our business to UNI next week, hope to get a good comparison.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

The cost to content ratio has just become too high for us at Disney. In the last ten years we've only gone to WDW, and have gone the last seven with our kids, once per year. Not this time .. we're taking our business to UNI next week, hope to get a good comparison.

I hope you are staying at one of the Universal on-site resort hotels.They are quite enjoyable. And the compare/contrast between the parks is eye opening. The compare/contrast of the resort hotels is mind boggling .

 

[jkl2000]

I can't really comment fully on either park, but if it weren't for the nostalgia factor at WDW we wouldn't be going to Orlando next month.